Plymouth Army veteran wins award for bravely sharing her struggles with PTSD

Army veteran Clare Hearl from Plymouth has been awarded the Veteran Ambassador of the Year by veterans’ mental health charity Combat Stress, for her dedication to raising awareness of military-related trauma.

On Thursday 27 February, Clare was presented with the award by Giles Peel, Chairman of Combat Stress, at the charity’s annual awards ceremony in London.

The charity delivers specialist treatment and support to former service personnel across the UK with military-related trauma such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Clare joined the Army at 18 in 1997 and served for 10 years across the world. After battling mental health issues for almost 20 years, things finally unraveled in 2016. One particular incident that stuck with Clare during that year was shortly after her son turned three: “My mum came over and asked [my son]: ‘Where’s Mummy?’. He replied: ‘Crying, Grandma’.”

Soon after, Clare made the call to Combat Stress. She was subsequently diagnosed with PTSD and treated by the charity, something that ultimately transformed her and her family’s lives. You can read more about Clare’s struggles and journey to recovery here:https://combatstress.org.uk/clares-story.

Since then, Clare has worked tirelessly to raise the profile of the mental health issues veterans can face, including bravely sharing her journey to overcome PTSD for a powerful new film (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMJ67Zq9aCg) from Combat Stress, featuring in a fundraising appeal, and speaking at events about her experiences in the military and the impact they had on her life.

The importance and the impact of Clare’s awareness-raising efforts cannot be overstated, and she has become a fantastic ambassador for both Combat Stress and the veteran community.

On her award, Clare said: “Combat Stress gave me the tools to start living again, as well as to kickstart my own business.

“Winning this award means the absolute world to me. It’s also made me realise just how far I have come since receiving treatment. I hope my efforts have, and will, help more women veterans realise that you don’t have to have experienced frontline combat to be diagnosed and treated for PTSD, and to give them the courage to seek help with their trauma.”

Robert Marsh, Director of Fundraising at Combat Stress, said: “We are so grateful to Clare, whose bravery and honesty has really helped shine a spotlight on the life-changing difference we make. Her support has been invaluable, and we are delighted to present her with our Veteran Ambassador of the Year award.

“No other charity does what we do. Combat Stress provides the most comprehensive veteran mental health treatment service in the UK, but we could not continue to do so without everything that brave and selfless veterans like Clare do for us and the veterans who seek our help.”

More than 160 fundraisers and veteran volunteers attended Combat Stress’ annual ‘Extra Mile’ awards at the Cavalry and Guards Club in London.

The event was devised to celebrate and recognise the incredible selflessness and dedication of individuals, teams and companies’ whose achievements and innovative fundraising have gone above and beyond all expectation.

During treatment, Clare was shown a film about depression called The Black Dog. She has since gone on to create her own business, creating handcrafted military glassware, called the Crafty Black Dog (www.thecraftyblackdog.co.uk) in recognition of her battle with mental health issues.